Among other highlights of the early voting trends, Albert Pujols of the All-Star-host Cardinals is leading all players, and suspended Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez is very much in contention for his first NL start.

The two Brewers who are leading are in the outfield, where Ryan Braun leads everyone with 663,164 votes, and at shortstop, where J.J. Hardy (403,269) has a slim lead over the Marlins' Hanley Ramirez (365,746).

At every other spot, Brewers are running shotgun. This includes second base, even though Rickie Weeks was lost for the season a week ago with an injury to his left wrist.

The overall vote leader, appropriately enough, is Pujols, as much as anyone the face of the 80th Midsummer Classic, which will be played in Busch Stadium on July 14.

Pujols' total of 842,058 votes is about 167,000 more than anyone else has yet tallied in the league, and is nearly double the number recorded by the first-base runner-up, Milwaukee's Prince Fielder (427,284).

A position-by-position snapshot:

 At second base, Weeks (401,918) trails the Phillies' Chase Utley, who is second among all players with 675,596 votes.

 At short, the nearly 37,500-vote differential between Hardy and Ramirez reflects the tightest race in the early going.

 In the outfield, the guys on the heels of Braun include a scrum of All-Star veterans, with the Cubs' Alfonso Soriano (545,354) and the Mets' Carlos Beltran (476,843) in line for starts by running second and third.

The outfield's second tier is comprised of Ramirez (442,763), the Brewers' Mike Cameron (432,034) and Raul Ibanez (399,969) of the Phillies.

Fans can cast their votes for starters up to 25 times with the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Online Ballot at MLB.com and all 30 club sites until July 2 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Starting rosters will be announced during the 2009 All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Chevrolet on TBS on July 5. Baseball fans around the world will then be able to select the final player on each team via the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote at MLB.com.

The voting doesn't end there. Fans will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet at the Midsummer Classic via the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint MVP Vote at MLB.com.

The All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX and around the world by Major League Baseball International. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio play-by-play, while MLB.com will offer extensive online coverage.

2009 MLB All-Star Balloting : National League

1st Base

RANK

PLAYER NAME

NL TEAM

TOTAL VOTES

1.

Albert Pujols

Cardinals

842,058

2.

Prince Fielder

Brewers

427,284

3.

Ryan Howard

Phillies

294,830

4.

Carlos Delgado

Mets

158,953

5.

Lance Berkman

Astros

146,001

2nd Base

RANK

PLAYER NAME

NL TEAM

TOTAL VOTES

1.

Chase Utley

Phillies

675,596

2.

Rickie Weeks

Brewers

401,918

3.

Orlando Hudson

Dodgers

314,103

4.

Skip Schumaker

Cardinals

223,197

5.

Luis Castillo

Mets

145,632

3rd Base

RANK

PLAYER NAME

NL TEAM

TOTAL VOTES

1.

David Wright

Mets

454,449

2.

Bill Hall

Brewers

371,950

3.

Chipper Jones

Braves

281,540

4.

Ryan Zimmerman

Nationals

272,744

5.

Aramis Ramirez

Cubs

260,529

Shortstop

RANK

PLAYER NAME

NL TEAM

TOTAL VOTES

1.

J.J. Hardy

Brewers

403,269

2.

Hanley Ramirez

Marlins

365,746

3.

Jimmy Rollins

Phillies

321,098

4.

Jose Reyes

Mets

280,938

5.

Khalil Greene

Cardinals

204,517

Catcher

RANK

PLAYER NAME

NL TEAM

TOTAL VOTES

1.

Yadier Molina

Cardinals

451,368

2.

Jason Kendall

Brewers

383,773

3.

Ivan Rodriguez

Astros

292,496

4.

Russell Martin

Dodgers

261,917

5.

Brian McCann

Braves

227,564

Outfield

RANK

PLAYER NAME

NL TEAM

TOTAL VOTES

1.

Ryan Braun

Brewers

663,164

2.

Alfonso Soriano

Cubs

545,354

3.

Carlos Beltran

Mets

476,843

4.

Manny Ramirez

Dodgers

442,763

5.

Mike Cameron

Brewers

432,034

6.

Raul Ibanez

Phillies

399,969

7.

Corey Hart

Brewers

397,001

8.

Ryan Ludwick

Cardinals

348,768

9.

Rick Ankiel

Cardinals

331,412

10.

Shane Victorino

Phillies

300,385

11.

Andre Ethier

Dodgers

223,086

12.

Jayson Werth

Phillies

217,670

13.

Kosuke Fukudome

Cubs

214,199

14.

Matt Kemp

Dodgers

209,668

15.

Chris Duncan

Cardinals

206,058

Results updated: Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.